Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Maryland Becomes Second State To Report South African COVID Variant; Biden: Relief Bill Must Pass, With Or Without Republicans; CNN Analysis: White People Are Getting Vaccinated At Higher Rates Than Black, Latino Americans; Controversial Members & Looming Impeachment Trial Drive GOP Infighting; Hospitals Overcrowded As New COVID-19 Variant Rips Through Brazil. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired January 30, 2021 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:00:38]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin with this breaking news. There's brand new evidence that the new coronavirus variants are spreading in the U.S. Maryland, just announcing its first reported case of the more contagious coronavirus strain first discovered in South Africa. This follows positive cases discovered in South Carolina. The U.K. variant has also been found in the U.S. with more than 400 cases discovered thus far.

Dr. Anthony Fauci calling the new variants a wake-up call that require immediate steps to develop vaccines. The U.S. is fast approaching 26 million cases, a quarter of all infections on the planet. And to fight this spread the CDC is issuing a new public transportation mask mandate starting late Monday. Anyone riding on airplanes, trains, subways, taxis and buses will be required to wear a mask.

The U.S. is in a race against time to administer millions of vaccines that have already been distributed. So far, just over half of the vaccines given to states have been administered to citizens. CNN's Natasha Chen is in Atlanta's Mercedes Benz Stadium beside have a huge vaccination effort. Natasha, how has the turnout then?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, a race against time is right. There are 1700 people expected to get a shot in the arm today and Mercedes Benz Stadium. And they're the lucky ones. There is a waitlist right now online for Fulton County, those who could get appointments, they came in through an outside line, they are now wrapping around inside where you see them over there trying to stay socially distance.

And then they come over to these tables in front of us to get registered, fill out some paperwork, then they will sit in that section in the distance to wait for their names to be called. And you can tell in the distance there those are the empty seats of Mercedes Benz Stadium host of the Super Bowl two years ago. And now in a completely different world. These people getting their shots today, most of them are getting their second doses actually of the Pfizer vaccine.

So, they would have come for the first time around January 8th or 9th. And of course, the overall challenge according to the county health director is still the supply coming in because she says there are resources to get more vaccines into arms. If only they could get more doses. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. LYNN PAXTON, DIRECTOR, FULTON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH: Everything is workable, we can actually get more vaccines out, given the resources that we have or that are shortly coming to us. But if you don't have the vaccine, then we can't do it. We need more vaccine coming to us from the -- from the feds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: And as soon as they get those vaccines in hand, they open up more appointment slots and start to work through that waitlist that they have right now. A waitlist of a thousands of people so eager to get this vaccine a year into this pandemic that's killed so many loved ones, Fred. And she did also mention that that so far, the people getting vaccinated they don't really reflect the demographics of the larger community. So, that's something that they're also working on improving.

WHITFIELD: All right. Natasha Chen, thank you so much in Atlanta. All right. President Biden says the American people can't wait on COVID relief, he's pressing forward with his $1.9 trillion bill with or without Republican support.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you support passing COVID relief through budget reconciliation?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I support passing COVID relief with support from Republicans if we can get it. But the code really fast too fast. There's no ifs ands or buts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Arlette Saenz is at the White House for us. So, Arlette, you know this new messaging from the President, how does this change potentially the administration's approach? I mean, there was a promise of bipartisanship, but this demonstrates that maybe a go it alone.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, President Biden has made his preference clear that he would like to pass a COVID relief package in a bipartisan manner. But you are also seeing these slight acknowledgments in the fact that they are not closing the door on possibly using reconciliation which would only require a simple majority of Democrats to pass this measure.

[13:05:01] SAENZ: That is something that many Democrats on up on Capitol Hill are promoting as this $1.9 trillion COVID relief package has met some Republican resistance. There have been senators who have said that it needs to have a more targeted approach, especially after a COVID relief package was already passed at the end of last year. And what you are seeing the White House, the President and administration officials do is really make this full court press behind the scenes to try to get the support for this bill.

President Biden is someone who really values the inside game, and he has been making calls to senators on both sides of the aisles. He spoke this week with Senator Susan Collins of Maine and Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, both Republicans whose vote could be key if he were to get this measure passed in a bipartisan way. But the White House has not fully ruled it out that they may need to pursue that reconciliation process in order to get this top legislative priority passed.

WHITFIELD: All right. Arlette Saenz, thanks so much at the White House. All right. Joining me right now to discuss Dr. Jayne Morgan, the clinical director of Piedmont Healthcare's COVID Task Force in Atlanta. Good to see you doctors. So, now this new news that that variant that's straight from South Africa has now been detected in at least one case in Maryland. How concerned are you about these variants now traveling?

DR. JAYNE MORGAN, CLINICAL DIRECTOR, COVID TASK FORCE. PIEDMONT HEALTHCARE: Right. And I think we should have expected that. And certainly, the variants are probably have been here, even ahead of the -- ahead of the one that's been identified. We have to remember that the SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted by air.

If we think about that, it's very hard to contain air. So, we should expect that these variants are here, and even more variants are to come when we have not really been doing adequate genomic tracking or tracing over 90 percent of all the variants still have not been identified.

And so, we need to have some weariness and some concern and move forward with vaccinations with haste.

WHITFIELD: And perhaps there has been this expectation that obviously these variants, either the U.K. version, or South Africa was going to travel. We know and have learned earlier this week that there are cases of the South African variant in South Carolina completely different areas of South Carolina. But how do you equip people with maintaining hope in these vaccines that are being made available from coast to coast that while the South African version is very virulent, and there are studies that show that it may not respond well to the existing vaccines?

What is the message that you give to people who are waiting in line for a vaccine hoping that it's going to give them some protection?

MORGAN: Right. And I think something that we have to think about is that all species in the world live, try to move forward with life and try to preserve their life. And we see that in viruses as well as in humans. And so, the viruses continue to change and adapt such that they can live, such that they can survive. The same as humans. And so, we are in this race against one another. The virus can only survive if it continues to find hosts.

The host is the human being. And so, we have to have public health safety measures, masking, washing our hands, social distancing, but we also need to move forward with vaccinations and protecting ourselves because the longer -- are unprotected, either with public measures or with antibody protection, the virus continues to mutate, continues to change we continue in this path will be are chasing it.

WHITFIELD: A recent CNN analysis of data from 14 states finds that black and Latino Americans continue to be vaccinated at a significantly lower rates than white people. Health advocates blame the disparity on the federal government, hospitals not prioritizing equitable asset -- access rather. What do you attribute to this?

MORGAN: Right. Radically, you know, this should not be a surprise when we look at the relationship of African-Americans to the healthcare system. It's tenuous at best. And then if we fold in research on top of that, with all of the historical atrocities, there's even a greater divide. And then you add in the U.S. government to this which also has an uneasy relationship with the African-American population. All three of those come together to create this vaccine.

So, we should not be surprised that there is reticence, that there is hesitancy that there is never been seen. In addition, when we look at the previous administration, science was not at the forefront, science was not valued, that voice was not there.

[13:10:07]

MORGAN: And so, we also have trust issues. as well, coming from that particular administration. So, this should not be a surprise at all. We need to also think about physicians in this country. 8 percent of African-Americans in this country are seen by black physicians. If we do not recruit black physicians to these clinical trials, to become principal investigators to become leaders, and now to become vaccinators in their practices, they are the ones who are the trusted voices and who can begin to encourage their patients.

That's 80 percent of the population. So, many, many multi layers. And this certainly should not have been a surprise, it would have been nice to get messaging and communication out well ahead of the vaccine rollout.

WHITFIELD: Uh-hmm. Significant points. Dr. Jayne Morgan, always good to see you. Thank you so much.

MORGAN: Thank you so much, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up. Controversies are piling up for QAnon supporting Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene as Republicans remain mostly silent. Today, she's touting a recent phone call with former President Trump. And a look inside hospitals in Brazil that are coping with a surge of a new coronavirus variant that has now been found in the U.S.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:15:31]

WHITFIELD: All right. Today embattled Republican, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is touting support from former President Trump saying on Twitter today she had a "Great call with him." This coming as she faces criticism from Democrats who want her expelled from the House. Facebook posts have surfaced were Greene call the deadly Parkland High School shooting fake along with video showing her harassing Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg.

CNN's KFile also found other Facebook posts where Greene repeatedly indicated support for executing prominent Democratic politicians. Next week, House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy will meet with a controversial Georgia Congresswoman to talk about some of her outrageous behavior. For more now let's bring in Suzanne Malveaux on Capitol Hill. So, Susan, are Republicans pressuring McCarthy at all ahead of his meeting with Greene?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There are some friend who are speaking out publicly and there's some who are also speaking quietly that they find this absolutely appalling. But what she is facing here is largely a Democratic call either for censure, for some sort of punishment to be removed for her -- from her committees or be expelled from Congress altogether. That not likely requiring two- thirds majority in the House.

She is however, going to be meeting with Leader McCarthy later next week. And they will talk about her views, but it is very clear for her that she's feeling emboldened. She is not taking her cues, or any sway whatsoever from the criticism that she's getting from the Democratic side. Nor from her Republican colleagues. So, she said in a tweet here and it was really a Twitter storm this morning, she -- I had a great call with my all-time favorite POTUS, President Trump.

I'm so grateful for his support. And more importantly, the people of the country are absolutely 100 percent loyal to him because he's 100 percent loyal to the people and America first. Fred, she goes on to say, I won't back down, I'll never apologize. And I'll always keep fighting for the people. She is also taking her cues from Leader McCarthy because he met with then the former President Trump at Mar-a- Lago.

They both emerged from that meeting, essentially saying they are determined to take the House and the Senate back so that Republicans are back in charge. The former President Trump saying he's more popular and his endorsement means more now than ever before. And then McCarthy really framing this issue as taking it against the Democratic agenda, calling it a radical agenda.

And so, when these two meet, Congresswoman Greene and McCarthy, I -- what I anticipate is that he might come out with a -- some sort of statement in broad terms, saying that rhetoric, violent rhetoric against politicians is not acceptable on both sides, that this is not the kind of thing that he will target her for. Very much like what we heard from Representative Steve Scalise.

However, there are some Republicans, Fred, and this from Senator Mitt Romney, very much a critic of the President, also going after Greene saying lies of a feather flock together. Marjorie Taylor Greene's nonsense and the big lie of a stolen election. So, anticipate those who have been critical of the President will also be critical of her as well. Many will remain silent.

WHITFIELD: Uh-hmm. And Suzanne, this controversy, you know, is coming as some GOP lawmakers are embroiled in this Civil War, if you want to call it. That some members, you know, trying to kick out party leader, Liz Cheney for her vote for impeachment of President Trump and now, a former president, George W. Bush is showing his support for Cheney. So, what's going on with this? How influential is this at all?

MALVEAUX: Well, former President George W. Bush very much a conservative stalwart, if you will, of the party, a traditionalist and so it's not surprising, but he it is important that he is lending his support behind her. He did say through a spokesperson that he is going to be calling his former Vice President Dick Cheney to wish him a happy birthday. It's his 80th birthday, but also to thank his daughter, Liz Cheney for her service to the country.

So, clearly, he is weighing in on this. Trying to sway some of those Republicans who have been quiet and those who've been really not very strong in their statements or strong enough in his opinion to speak out and to support her but that is just one of the rifts that is the cleavages that is happening within this party. It is far from certain which way they go. But we're already beginning to see, Fred, an indication that some are willing to stick with former President Trump.

[13:20:06]

WHITFIELD: All right. Suzzane Malveaux on Capitol Hill. Thanks so much. And this programming no, join Anderson Cooper for a look at the origins of this QAnon conspiracy. How did this fringe theory become a movement that includes members of Congress? What role did it play in the Capitol insurrection? The CNN's special report inside the QAnon conspiracy airs tonight 9:00 Eastern. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The FBI is intensifying its search for the suspects who placed pipe bombs near the Capitol before the riot three weeks ago now.

[13:25:05]

WHITFIELD: The FBI says the bombs had actually been placed there the night before. Surveillance video obtained by the Washington Post appears to show the suspect before the bomb was placed in an alley behind the Republican Party headquarters a few blocks from the Capitol grounds. The same person is also suspected of placing a second bomb at the Democratic Party headquarters.

CNN Marshall Cohen has been reporting on this. So, good to see you, Marshall. Where does this investigation stand right now? Are they any closer to finding the suspect?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: It seems like they're not that much closer, Fred, because they just upped the ante of the reward money. It's now $100,000. They're asking people to come forward with any information they might have. As you saw in that surveillance tape though, it's not that clear who this person is. They're wearing a hoodie, a mask. It's -- their identities fairly obscured. The FBI did release the type of Nike shoes they were wearing.

So, they're really kind of grasping at straws. They're trying to get some new information. But separately beyond the pipe bombs, the feds have arrested more than 170 people and charged them with crimes. The latest indictment that came yesterday was of two members of the Proud Boys. Their names are Dominic Pezzola and William Pepe. Both of New York. They were charged with conspiracy, basically accused of working together on January 6th to breach the police line.

The man there on the right side of your screen, Pezzola is specifically accused of taking a police shield, smashing a window and then hundreds of rioters streamed through that window to get into the Capitol. So, they're sort of closing up the dragnet trying to catch as many of these guys as possible, making some progress with some people but still running into a wall with some of the others, Fred. There's a long way to go.

WHITFIELD: OK. Marshall Cohen. Thanks so much.

COHEN: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up. GOP leadership is struggling to tamp down a growing Civil War within the party between impeachment and conspiracy theories. What is the path forward for this fractured caucus?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:31:25]

WHITFIELD: As Republicans in Congress push Democrats on the issue of unity, the GOP is dealing with major division in its own ranks.

The infighting being driven by debate over how tight to keep their ties to former President Trump and by controversial members who have put the focus on fringe elements of the party.

Here's CNN's Ryan Nobles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amid rising tensions, House Republicans are set to meet behind closed doors next Wednesday. Members and aides telling CNN they expect the regularly scheduled

gathering could turn into a venting session over the impeachment vote, two weeks ago, that's divided the conference.

(SHOUTING)

NOBLES: In the aftermath of the capitol insurrection, some GOP leaders signaled a break with the former president.

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): The president bears responsibility for Wednesday's attack on Congress by mob rioters.

NOBLES: Only to reverse course.

House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, flying to Florida for a face- to-face meeting with Trump Thursday and releasing a statement after highlighting the former president's hold on the party.

"Today, President Trump committed to helping elect Republicans in the House and Senate in 2022, McCarthy said. "A Republican majority will listen to our fellow Americans and solve the challenges facing our nation."

Despite that show of unity, there are signs of division over Trump's role in the party moving forward.

REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): President Trump is going to keep fighting for this country with everything breath that he has.

(CHEERING)

NOBLES: Trump loyalist, Matt Gaetz, traveling to Wyoming to call for the ouster of Liz Cheney, the third-ranking House Republican who voted to impeach Trump.

GAETZ: I'll confess to you, this is my first time in Wyoming. I've been here for about an hour and I feel like I already know the place a lot better than your misguided Representative Liz Cheney.

(CHEERING)

NOBLES: That, as newly elected House Republicans draw fresh scrutiny for past controversial statements.

Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene scrubbing her social media pages after CNN uncovered posts indicating support for executing prominent Democratic leaders.

And video surfacing of her harassing Parkland shooting victim, David Hogg.

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): You guys are being used.

DAVID HOGG, ANTI-GUN ACTIVIST: That's right.

TAYLOR GREENE: Being used by the left, because you're young. NOBLES: Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert taking to Twitter to

criticize Hogg after he wrote that putting up fencing around the capitol would not address the real threats of Greene and Boebert.

"David, please, we all saw how tough you were when questioned face to face. Give your keyboard a rest, child."

Democrats are calling for Greene to be expelled from Congress or removed from a key House committee.

While, at the White House, Press Secretary Jen Psaki said this when asked about Greene.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We don't want to elevate conspiracy theories further in the briefing room. So I'm going to leave it at that.

NOBLES: But in Greene's district, voters offering their support, a sign of the pressure Republicans are facing when it comes to choosing a path forward.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She needs to continue to fight and I'm behind her all the way.

NOBLES (on camera): There's no doubt that Greene's antics have become somewhat of a distraction on Capitol Hill.

Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush, who also a freshman like Greene, said she asked to have her office moved away from Greene in the Longworth House Office Building because of a verbal altercation the two had in the tunnel in the capitol on the day of the impeachment.

Greene went and posted that video on her Twitter feed, claiming that she was the one that was the victim, not Bush.

But it is an example of how this is dominating conversations in Washington. So much so that the House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, is scheduled to speak to Greene about the situation next week.

[13:35:05]

Ryan Nobles, CNN, on Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk about this. With me right now, Ana Navarro, a CNN political commentator, Scott Jennings, also a CNN political commentator and former special assistant to President George W. Bush, also Mark McKinnon, a campaign media manager for President George W. Bush.

Good to see all of you.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Ana, you first. What should the GOP do with Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and what should they do and what will they do?

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Frankly, they should expel her. Look, there's just a -- there's got to be a bottom to what is allowed and what is embraced and what finds a home in the Republican Party.

And there have been so many posts, so many videos that are incredibly offensive, that are threatening, that are disgusting, disgusting. When she's talking about race, where she's talking about people with disabilities, where she is making threats.

I mean, you know, there's -- there has got to be a limit of what is acceptable.

And, yes, it is a representative government. But there are people, QAnon conspiracy theorists, people who threaten colleagues, people who stalk children who just, you know, survived a mass shooting, do not belong in Congress.

And I think if there's a point where Republicans have to say enough is enough.

I am so disappointed by the silence of most Republicans in Congress who haven't stood up.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: So what does it mean if nothing is done, if there continues to be silence, or perhaps there really is no consequence for all that you just described?

Whether it be about Marjorie Taylor Greene, or whether it be about any other member of Congress, elected representative, who does and demonstrates all those things that you just laid out, but there's no consequence? Then what?

NAVARRO: Then I think it's a defining moment for the Republican Party. And it means the Republican Party's big tent has become a House of horrors.

Where conspiracy theories, where people with no moral compass, where people who are on the fringes are allowed and embraced, given committee assignments and it's, you know, and treated -- and normalized. I think it's a very sad day for the Republican Party.

For those of us who thought that maybe there be some rehabilitation of the Republican Party after Trump left, this has been a very sad week.

So, Scott, I mean, clearly, there's still the looming presence of the former president. I mean, Greene touted, and boasted in her tweet that she had a great call with the president.

So does this simply magnify where the party is, the direction that it is going? SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, yes, I mean, you can

look at what happened in the vote on the Electoral College and the number of House Republicans that decided to vote against accepting the Electoral College.

And then the number of Republicans who, of course, decided to impose impeachment, and public statements and others.

I mean, obviously they continue to see Donald Trump as the north star, not Kevin McCarthy or anyone else. As long as she has his support, I think it will make it less likely that any sort of punishment is meted out.

I ultimately think it's up to the voters of a district to decide who represents them. But it's up to the leaders of the party to decide who can lead the banner of that party.

So I'm not sure expulsion is the right thing. But I am quite sure that Republican leaders should make certain, via the stripping of committees and other means, this person does not represent or carry the banner of the Republican Party.

I know that may seem painful at the time because it would probably displease Donald Trump. They did this with Steve King. It took them a while to get there but they ultimately did this to Steve King before.

And her views on a great many topics are beyond offensive. They are dangerous. They are wrong. And they are not within a political spectrum that I recognize as being acceptable American political thoughts.

So I think the Republican leadership in the House would be well within their rights to say this person doesn't represent us, we will not permit her to carry our banner even if she remains a member of this body.

WHITFIELD: Mark, you nodded your head, particularly when Scott was saying, well, it's the will of the people. When they elect somebody into office, you know, that's the power right there.

But do you believe, you know, her constituents knew that they were getting all of this, or is it your feeling that they knew what they were getting and so it really isn't up to fellow lawmakers to silence her, censure her, et cetera?

MARK MCKINNON, POLITICAL ADVISOR: Well, I just think it's a practical reality that they're not going to expel her.

But the time for the Republican leadership to have acted was in the primary, when there was a very solid neurosurgeon Republican candidate.

[13:40:07]

And the Freedom Caucus, led by Mark Meadows and others, went and put their thumb on the scale and the leadership didn't have the backbone to stand up to them.

That's when they should have weighed in. And they got exactly what they asked for.

And it's not Russians scrubbing Marjorie Taylor Greene's social platform. She's scrubbing it because she knows it's problematic. She can't even defend it herself.

So my point -- and this is a point I've heard Scott make, too, -- this is a real problem for the party because there was a real opportunity here.

Republicans, with the exception of Donald Trump, actually did very well in 2020. And had a real -- and have a real opportunity in 2022.

But if the face of the Republican Party continues to be Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene, then the prospects for 2020 will fall dramatically.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: So, Ana, what is McCarthy doing? He's supposed to meet with her this week and, you know, we saw on Ryan Nobles' piece he has a leadership meeting this week.

And we also understand he had a scheduled, you know, meeting with the conference, the leadership conference this week. But then one of those meetings is being cancelled.

I mean, who is, I guess, giving him the directives, or is he leading the way?

NAVARRO: Look, I think he's trying to pull this balancing act. And, frankly, he looks incredibly weak, feckless and ineffective when he's saying he's going to have a conversation with her.

A conversation is what you have with your 3-year-old kid who scribbled with crayon on your white wall. It's not the type of thing that you do with a congressperson who we have seen do the type of things that Marjorie Taylor Greene has done.

I think one of the things that we're all waiting for, and if there -- if, if, I don't know if this is going to happen -- if there's more evidence tying her to what happened on January 6th, I think people may change their mind on the expulsion issue.

Because, you know, there's still things that we don't know.

What is Kevin McCarthy trying to do? He's trying to get Donald Trump's help in fundraising.

He's trying to make sure that Donald Trump is not active in using the political funds that he did raise and has in stock to go against some of the Republicans, in Kevin McCarthy's caucus.

He's trying to make sure Donald Trump doesn't go through with the threat of starting a third party.

And, look, remember, Donald Trump has shown consistently that he has no loyalty towards anybody.

Mike Pence had a four-year, you know, loyalty test with Donald Trump. He could not have been more loyal, loyal to his own detriment.

And yet, the one time Mike Pence did not -- was not willing to cross the constitutional bridge, Donald Trump sent people after him. Not figuratively. Literally. Literally. After him. To kill him.

WHITFIELD: So, Mark, we just saw, you know, a representation of the party as well, Florida, Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, traveling to Liz Cheney's home state of Wyoming, blasting her at a rally for voting to impeach the former president.

He not only wants Cheney removed from GOP leadership, but he's attacking all the Republicans who are not backing former President Trump 100 percent.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GAETZ: The private insider club of Joe Biden, Mitchell McConnell, Mitt Romney, Nancy Pelosi, and Liz Cheney --

(BOOING)

GAETZ: -- they want to return our government to its default setting.

It's not just red team versus blue team. Absolutely not. We've got to put America first.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, Mark, how representative of the party as a whole on Capitol Hill right now is that?

MCKINNON: Well, Matt Gaetz is the tip of the spear for Donald Trump, always has been, so it's no surprise he would be leading the charge.

But what is a surprise is that Republicans are in this civil war against people like Liz Cheney, who is a thoughtful conservative leader, who's done a terrific job over the course of the years.

I worked with her during Bush campaigns. She was so impressive. We haven't always agreed on issues but I've always thought she stood by principle and she just proved that.

And by the way, our old boss -- Scott, our old boss -- doesn't raise his head -- doesn't get on the radar screen very often these days but he did yesterday when he sent a clear message about his support for Liz Cheney.

WHITFIELD: Right. So, Scott, is that influential that George W. Bush chimed in Like this?

JENNINGS: Well, I'm sure some people would take notice of it. But to be candid, I don't know how influential it is. These members of Congress, as Mark and Ana know, they're living in the moment.

[13:45:02]

And the moment they're living in right now is that Donald Trump, for all intents and purposes, remains the boss of the Republican Party.

He's going to escape conviction in this impeachment trial, quite obviously. And he fully intends to keep going and to --

(CROSSTALK)

JENNINGS: -- and to run the party.

WHITFIELD: Even with investigations, or, you know, the uncovering of debts, et cetera, despite all of that, former President Trump will remain influential?

JENNINGS: Oh, yes, I mean, unless other shoes drop, which they could. I don't have any doubt that there are other investigations going on.

But as it stands right now, I mean, it's become quite apparent that Trump is going to emerge from this as the Republican Party boss.

I actually agree with Mark that that has a limiting effect on what the Republicans can do in the future. President Biden's first midterm, because of Democratic overreaches and just history, tells us that Republicans could do quite well.

But in the past several elections, when Trump has been the center of the Republican strategy, we've not won the national popular vote. We don't control anything in Washington. We lost the Senate in Georgia.

And so Trumpism has its political limits. And that was even before what happened on January 6th.

So to continue to go down this road as a political strategy, seems to be unwise to me.

But that's where they are at the moment, absent the other shoes you mentioned that could drop as he's out of office.

WHITFIELD: We'll leave it there for now. Ana Navarro, Scott Jennings, Mark McKinnon, also executive producer and co-host of "The Circus," thanks to all of you. Appreciate it.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, the coronavirus is surging across Brazil. Hospitals are running out of oxygen tanks and beds. And now a new variant is threatening to collapse its health care system. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:51:06]

WHITFIELD: As the coronavirus continues to mutate, new variants are finding new ways to spread. Some of them are more transmissible than previously seen.

And there's evidence to suggest that a variant first spotted in Brazil fits that description. It accounts for more than two-thirds of recent infections in the industry where it originated. And it has since been discovered in the U.S.

Matt Rivers has more from Sao Paulo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The tense quiet outside the small hospital in Iranduba, Brazil, can change so fast.

An ambulance suddenly pulls up in front of the hospital as a woman inside is given CPR, medics desperately trying to save her. But a hospital source told us she died soon after this video was shot.

The woman was the third COVID patient to die here this morning alone.

The overwhelmed hospital is a small example of a massive outbreak here in Brazil's northwest. Its epicenter known as the gateway to the Amazon, the city of Manaus.

The city of two million is replete with scenes like this, patients packed into unsanitary hospitals, with a startling lack of ventilators or even just oxygen.

Recovery is a mirage in what's been the city's deadliest month of the pandemic. By far, many here are just simply waiting to die.

This doctor says, "We've got 15 patients and there's two beds. It's difficult to try to say we choose who lives and who dies, but we do try and save the ones with the best chance to live."

Health officials at all levels have acknowledged shortcomings. And doctors and nurses are clearly doing their best with the little they have.

But Manaus has been here before. In April and May of last year, the health care system collapsed for the first time during the first COVID-19 wave. Some studies suggested up to 75 percent of Manaus got the virus.

Thousands of newly-dug graves pockmark the cemetery but now those are not enough.

(on camera): So that's why the government is quickly building these, so-called vertical graves. They're basically coffin-sized sections that stack on top of one another. They're doing it this way because they're running out of space.

By the time this project is ultimately done, the government says they will have built 22,000 vertical graves to meet the expected demand.

(voice-over): So many people got sick the first time, many here simply believed that herd immunity would prevent another round.

Despite many warnings that that might not be true, Brazil's COVID skeptical president, Jair Bolsonaro, said there wouldn't be a second wave. Things opened up. Life got back to normal. And then came a new COVID variant, P-1, originating right here in Brazil, a kind of a perfect storm.

SCOTT HENSLEY, VIRAL IMMUNOLOGIST, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: I'm usually not an alarmist about these kinds of things. And I'm concerned about what we're seeing in Brazil right now.

RIVERS: A recent study in Manaus found two-thirds of recent infections are caused by this variant, prompting fears that this variant spreads faster.

Back outside the small hospital in Iranduba, we meet Maxileia Silva De Silva. Her brother has been inside with COVID for weeks, in desperate need of better care that just doesn't exist here right now.

Next to the hospital, a refrigerated container was brought in to store bodies.

"Take our cry for help to the world," she tells us. "Tell them that this system is killing Brazilians. People who can't get into hospitals, are dying."

Halfway through our interview, though, we had to pause. There was a new suspected COVID patient arriving --

(CRYING)

RIVERS: -- crying as he's admitted. Because everybody here knows what can happen once you go inside.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[13:55:00]

RIVERS: And, Fred, it's hard to overstate how angry people in Manaus are with the response, or lack thereof, from the federal government there.

We know that the Brazilian health minister is under criminal investigation by federal authorities for his role in this latest calamity.

The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, has said that the federal government did more than it was obligated to do in Manaus.

This, despite the fact that in the first three weeks of January alone, more people died in Manaus than any other full month during this entire pandemic -- Fred?

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. It's a horrible situation.

Matt Rivers, thank you so much.

Still ahead, breaking news. A more contagious coronavirus strain, first discovered in South Africa, just recorded its first case in Maryland. What does this say about how the virus travels?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:06]

WHITFIELD: Hello, again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredericka Whitfield.

We begin with breaking news.